33Elevating
By MadnessinmyMethod
They say that in ancient times when the yogis meditated deeply enough, they would levitate great distances into the sky as long as they never broke their concentration, and, if they were lucky, they might just achieve something called "nirvana." It was spiritual enlightenment. It was peace. It was joy. It was the best thing that could happen to a person…
Earlier that afternoon…
"Ne, Kahoko, when are you going to bring home a boyfriend for us to meet? Didn't you find any boys in that concours thing?"
Hino Kahoko, a red-haired girl of sixteen who never thought of herself as particularly pretty or cute turned a violent shade of fuchsia to match her hair and glared at her overly inquisitive older sister. "I was focused on the music, not the boys," she argued fiercely.
Her sister grinned. "That's not what your friends told me."
Kahoko, if it was at all possible, turned a deeper shade of red. She opened her mouth but found that, sadly, she was completely and utterly speechless. Arguing clearly wasn't going to get her anywhere. Feeling bold, rash, and a little bit reckless even, she grabbed her purse and reaching for the door declared, "Fine. I'll go find a boy then!"
As she slammed the door shut on her sister's laughter and entered the well-kept street outside her family's apartment, Kahoko realized exactly what she had just gotten herself into… sort of.
Shopping malls were the one place that, no matter what happened, always seemed to make Kahoko feel better. Perhaps it was the way the walls seemed to glitter with white tiled purity that reflected the cheap fluorescent light or perhaps it was the freedom that lay open with all the fantastic potential purchases her small, but carefully saved allowance afforded her. Either way, Kahoko would willingly get into an argument with anyone, even a scary upperclassmen, about the therapeutic powers of a shopping mall.
And so, in major need of de-stressing, it was only an hour or two after Kahoko had left home and began wandering about aimlessly before she found herself at the mall. And after several hours of aforementioned de-stressing, Kahoko was waiting expectantly in front of the elevator on the fourth floor laden with far too many purchases and a considerably thinner wallet.
The elevator dinged pleasantly and Kahoko ceased to tap her foot nervously. It was near closing time and she had an irrational fear of being locked in the mall after hours. She walked in as soon as the doors slid open, but it was not until she finally managed to put some of her boxes and bags down that she realized that she was not the elevator's only occupant. "Oh, Tsukimori-kun," she said happily, "I didn't see you there!"
"Hello, Hino-san," he replied blandly and continued the exciting task he had been up to before Kahoko had greeted him: Staring at the elevator buttons.
The doors closed again and Kahoko felt her stomach drop as the elevator began to descend again. The sensation was only temporary and mild at that and she began to think of what she could possibly say to Tsukimori Len to abolish the horribly awkward silence that hung over the elevator like flies harassing a sweaty athlete.
Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, Kahoko didn't have time to think too deeply for suddenly the elevator stopped with a violent lurch and the lights flickered out—though quickly replaced by the reddish cast of emergency lights that ran on batteries. And then, of course, Kahoko knew exactly what to say. "What is going on?"
"The power went out," Tsukimori replied, truly trying to keep the disdain for her idiotic question out of his voice. He had noticed after all that she was a very pretty girl, though considerably thick-headed most of the time.
"What do you mean the power went out?" she demanded frantically, reaching for the doors where she tried and failed to pry them open. It was useless anyway; they were stuck between the third and fourth floors.
"Probably because of the thunderstorm," Tsukimori added calmly, very privately amused by Kahoko's frenzied behavior.
Kahoko paused for a moment, recalling that she had heard thunder at one point during her adventure in consumer paradise.
"Do you have a phone?" Tsukimori asked, interrupting her vague thoughts.
"Oh, right!" she exclaimed brightly and began digging through her purse to find the harbinger of hope. She flipped it open and for a brief moment the screen flashed the time: 10:03 pm, before it faded into black. "No!" she wailed, falling to her knees.
"What?"
Kahoko looked up at Tsukimori, tears in her eyes. "The battery just died."
10:23 pm…
"Would you stop screaming?" Tsukimori said angrily. "You're giving me a headache and no one can hear you. The mall closed already."
Deciding that it would be best not to argue with someone whom she would be trapped in a confined space with for a considerably large amount of time, Kahoko plopped down unceremoniously among her various purchases. Meanwhile, Tsukimori's stomach emitted the most ghastly sound she had ever heard. "Are you hungry, Tsukimori-kun?"
"No," he said sarcastically, "I'm so talented that my stomach plays music too sometimes, Hino-san."
"You don't have to be so rude to someone who's going to share food with you," Kahoko scolded. If they were going to be stuck in that elevator for hours she was not going to listen to him belittle her the entire time. It took awhile to come out, but she, Hino Kahoko, did have a backbone.
Tsukimori looked at her as she held out a very large and delicious-looking chocolate chip cookie, one of his few weaknesses. "Sorry. Thank you, Hino-san."
Kahoko smiled, amazed that she had actually gotten away with scolding Tsukimori Len, the biggest, most arrogant ice cube she had ever known. But that was only the beginning. Tsukimori broke the cookie in two and thrust half of it towards her as if by moving quickly he wouldn't be accused of having a heart.
"No, you eat it," Kahoko told him. "I'm not hungry yet and I have another cookie."
11:17 pm…
Kahoko sighed, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her head between the caps. Sure, she and Tsukimori weren't arguing or fighting or anywhere near wanting to kill each other—as far as being stuck in an elevator with another person, Tsukimori wasn't a bad person to be stuck with—but they were painfully quiet. She knew she had to give allowances somewhere, since Tsukimori wasn't a big talker by any means at all, but honestly a little conversation to pass the time that was ticking by so slowly couldn't be a bad thing.
Judging by Tsukimori's wristwatch, which Kahoko could just make out from across the elevator, they had been stuck there for just over an hour. The mall didn't even open again until well into the morning. Kahoko was going out of her mind with boredom.
Little did she know, that Tsukimori was also going out of his mind, but for completely different reasons as to which the sighing girl had no idea. Tsukimori suffered from an inner struggle in which he was fighting his deepest, most irrational desires with the calm logic of his mind which for the most part was unused to these sorts of struggles.
Tsukimori had never had an irrational desire in his life and so his mind and heart never conflicted. He wanted to be the best violinist and so his mind told his heart that to achieve that, he must practice. So he did. He wanted to be a logical person and so his mind told him that being intelligent and exercising good judgment would grant him that end. Yet, he found within his heart a new desire that conflicted with everything he knew.
He found himself unable to keep from staring at the girl sitting across from him in the elevator, with her head balanced delicately between her knees and her hands folded lightly on top of her feet. Her fuchsia hair glowed violently in the red emergency lights that had kicked on when the elevator broke down. Tsukimori could not stop himself from noticing that she looked so much different when she wasn't wearing her school uniform. There was so much more to see. He mentally slapped himself for that last thought. But it was true; the clunky uniform disguised her features.
A part of Tsukimori wanted to confess to Kahoko just how important she was to him. But his mind scolded his heart. He wasn't being logical anymore. What if she rejected him? Oh, then he would have to sit with her in the elevator for hours knowing that he was a fool and she didn't love him. He probably wasn't handsome enough for her. He wasn't kind enough. He wasn't talented enough. He just wasn't enough.
Kahoko looked at Tsukimori intently. She could now see the struggle and tension unfolding in his eyes as he plunged further into whatever was going on in his mind. She didn't know what, but she wasn't blind to the fact that something was happening within him. "Tsukimori-kun, are you alright?" she asked quietly. He seemed not to hear her. "Tsukimori-kun?" she shouted.
His eyes snapped back into focus. "What?" he asked harshly.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"No," he admitted.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Is it that you're claustrophobic?" she guessed. "There's nothing wrong with that. Just think of big open fields or something…"
"I'm not claustrophobic," he said.
"Oh."
"Well, if you want to talk about it—"
"I don't."
"Okay, but if you do," she persisted.
"Stop nagging me, woman," he snapped.
12:34 am…
Kahoko shivered in the cold elevator, listening to Tsukimori snore softly from the other side. She would never have guessed that Tsukimori snored. He seemed so… refined. Kahoko yawned and shivered again. She was horrifically tired, but every time she dozed off the cold air woke her up again. Sadly, all of her purchases had been spring and summer items or not even clothes at all and they did her no good.
There seemed to be only one option and it was not an option she considered lightly. Kahoko knew that she must be going insane for in her mind she had already dubbed the maneuver "Operation: Get Tsukimori's Heat." It entailed her very sneakily moving over toward Tsukimori's side of the horrible mechanical contraption that confined them without waking him up and slowly, carefully sneaking herself up next to him so that, in the comfort of his body heat, she could at last fall asleep. Yeah, she was crazy, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
Kahoko was ready to pat herself on the back and do an inner dance as she succeeded with almost all of her plan. It was executed beautifully, except for one crucial part: DO NOT WAKE UP TSUKIMORI. Yes, that part, she had failed epically.
Tsukimori jerked awake. "Huh, Hino-san, what the hell are you doing?"
"Um… it's cold over there," she said absolutely and utterly petrified.
"So?" he demanded.
"I can't sleep if it's cold."
"Didn't you buy a sweater or anything?"
"N-no," she replied softly, wondering why he hadn't yet shoved her away or anything of that nature.
"Then… then… okay, no one ever hears about this, got that?"
"H-h-hai," she stuttered.
The silence was awkward for a long time, but slowly the two relaxed, each praying that the entire situation was a figment of their imagination. For surely, Hino Kahoko and Tsukimori Len would never be trapped together in an elevator, cuddling because it was too cold for Kahoko to sleep.
7:28 am…
Tsukimori yawned as he opened his eyes, wondering many things such as: Why the light in his room was so red, Why he felt so stiff, Why was his bed so uncomfortable, and most importantly, Why were he and Hino Kahoko holding onto each other so desperately? Then it all came flooding back to him and so he wondered just one more thing: Why did the Universe hate him so?
He stiffened as he felt Kahoko stir slightly and hastened to remove his arms that had so casually wound themselves around her in the night. He was sadly too late.
"Tsu-Tsukimori-kun?" she asked dazedly. "What are you doing in my bedroom?"
"We're in an elevator, remember?" he said softly.
"Oh. What are you doing in my elevator?"
"What?"
"Oh, sorry. I don't think in the morning," she said, removing herself gracefully from his grasp and standing up to stretch.
Tsukimori stood up too, mainly because her standing made him feel short and, simply, it bruised his ego to feel short, especially because of a girl.
Kahoko looked around her, still completely out of sorts. She looked as if she were trying to find some sort of secret door out of the elevator. "What time is it?" she asked.
Tsukimori glanced at his watch. "Seven thirty-six," he said.
"Hmm… mall opens in an hour and twenty-four minutes… then they'll let us out…" She trailed off, sounding a great deal like a certain sleepy, cello-playing first year. And then she swayed, partially because once she was on her feet in the morning she found it very hard to stay there, and partially because her only food since lunch time had been some cake she had eaten in the mall and a very large chocolate chip cookie.
Tsukimori grabbed her by the arm, keeping her from falling all the way to the floor. He couldn't stop her from falling slightly though and he quickly grabbed her other arm to at least hold her upright as she stumbled backward into his chest. Kahoko turned, resting her head on his shoulder. "Mmm… Tsukimori-kun, you have awesome shoulders."
"Thank you, Hino-san," he said, not quite knowing what to do with her.
"Yeah, I love your shoulders," she continued. "They're so big and manly. You know, you're really a handsome guy."
Tsukimori's stomach fluttered. "You're very beautiful too, Hino-san," he replied quietly.
"Really?" she said. "Aw, that's so sweet."
"Hino-san, you should really try to wake up before they get us out of here," Tsukimori said, feeling very uncomfortable. Why couldn't she be a morning person instead of being completely out of her head and saying… things?
"Mm… yeah, you're right," she said, letting him go and walking over to her bags. "Do I have another cookie?" Kahoko muttered, her dazed mind thinking that sugar would probably work in the short term to wake her up as Tsukimori suggested. "Ah-ha! Bingo was his name-o!"
8:37 am…
Kahoko was no less than mortified. She was awake now. Yes, she was perfectly and absolutely in her right mind. And she was embarrassed beyond belief as she remembered exactly what she had said and done to poor Tsukimori. He seemed to have retreated within himself, interacting with her only to eat the other half of her cookie.
"Tsu-Tsukimori-kun," Kahoko began nervously, "about what I said this morning… I hope I didn't offend—"
"It's fine," he said shortly.
"It's not that I didn't mean those things," she continued, plowing on anyway. "It's just I wouldn't have…" she faltered "… have said them."
Tsukimori looked up at her. There was a hard look in his eyes that frightened her a little bit. "So you meant them," he said.
"Y-yes," she whispered.
Something seemed to grow inside Tsukimori. He didn't know what it was. It wasn't hope exactly, though it felt a lot like it. It was indescribable. For once, his mind had nothing to tell him. He felt… free. He breathed deeply. "Kahoko," he said softly.
She blushed hearing him call her by her given name. Kahoko struggled to speak and breathe at the same time, but found it difficult as Tsukimori came closer to her, the space between them quickly becoming non-existent.
"Kahoko," he repeated. She could feel his warm breath on her skin as her heart beat rapidly threatening to burst out of her chest in dreadfully unromantic gore. Please, God, don't let that happen, she prayed.
And then, Tsukimori did what he had wanted to do for far too long. His lips pressed lightly over hers, soft and gentle. Their hearts ached with the music Kahoko had first heard him play with twice the feeling and emotion twisted up inside.
A pleasant dinging sound brought the two of them back to reality. The elevator doors had slid open once more revealing a small group of disgruntled mall employees. "What the hell are you kids doing in here?"
Kahoko and Tsukimori blushed, both of them utterly speechless and though they were on the ground again, they still felt like they were stuck between the third and fourth floors.
Author's Note: So this is actually my first La Corda D'Oro fanfic. I just reccently watched the anime, but I haven't read the manga, which I'm told is a bit different, so please pardon my semi-ignorance. Anyway, I just sort of love Tsukimori since he's like this person I know who we thought had no soul until we neaerly made him cry once. Plus he's the most amazing poet ever. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing. Please review. Madness
